Save Me
by WishFlower
Summary: Rogue is teaching at the school, Logan comes back after six years away. But Magneto and Pyro are back too. And they have Victor with them.


Rogan Fanfiction:

**Chapter One:**

"Alright, make sure you finish your essays by Monday. Have a good weekend!" Rogue said as she dismissed her class.

The classroom was filled with quiet chatter as the small group of fifteen year olds packed their belongings and left the room.

"Rogue!" Jubilee squealed as she raced into the now empty classroom. "Did you hear? Storm decided to have a Christmas Party! There's gonna be dancing and music and food and a Christmas tree! Aren't you excited?!"

"Yeah, of course." Rogue said quietly.

"You don't sound excited. What's wrong?" Jubilee asked her best friend as they made their way towards the dining hall.

"It's just…….. it's nothing. Nevermind."

"It's not nothing if you're this upset by it!" Jubilee protested.

"Kitty and Bobby are getting married." Rogue whispered.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I forgot. You're a bridesmaid, aren't you? It must be hard to watch your ex-boyfriend getting married." Jubilee patted Rogues arm sympathetically.

"No, I'm fine. It's been five years after all. We've both moved on. But there getting married on _Valentines Day _for crying out loud!" The multi-coloured haired woman exclaimed.

"Well, they both love ice and snow! And it's very romantic getting married on Valentines Day, isn't it?"

"I think it's cheesy."

"Fine then, Little Miss Cynical. Hey, why don't you come over to my room tonight and we can paint each others nails for Christmas and watch romantic movies?" Jubilee asked as they entered the dining area.

"Painting my nails could be difficult. It would put a bit of a damper on Christmas if you died from touching me." The southern woman smiled sadly.

"But I thought you could touch people now if you focused? Aren't you working with Storm on controlling your power?" Jubilee asked as she grabbed a salad.

Two years ago all the mutants who had taken the cure got their powers back in full swing. The cure turned out to be only temporary. The mutants were devastated but none more than Rogue. The fact that she could no longer touch Bobby caused him to break up with her and run to someone who could hug and kiss him. So she worked with Storm on controlling her powers so she could touch people if she concentrated enough.

"I'm still really nervous. I don't want to take a chance." Rogue muttered and grabbed a salad.

Storm walked up to the young woman, "Hey, can you two help decorate the hall for the dance? It's tomorrow night and none of the other teachers are helping."

Jubilee smiled, "Of course we can help! We're both so excited!"

Rogue smiled weakly, "Yeah."

Storm sighed, "It's going to be okay, Rogue. Logan will come back."

"You say that every time." Rogue snapped angrily.

"And he always does." Storm replied calmly.

"I'm sorry for being so grouchy with both of you. It's just with Bobby's wedding and Logan has been gone for so long. I just feel really alone." Rogue blushed at the sudden outburst.

Storm and Jubilee looked at her so pityingly that it just embarrassed Rogue more.

"You know what, it's fine. I'm fine. I'm not really hungry. And I have to go prepare for my next class." Rogue dumped her uneaten lunch in the trash and walked out of the room ignoring the voices of her friends.

She leaned against the outside wall and sighed. After Jeans death, Logan stayed for about a year. Just long enough to see her get her diploma. Than he was gone for a week. Then he came back for two months. Then he left for six months. Then he came back for only one month. He is slowly slipping out of her life. He has now been gone for three years. Rogue doubts he will ever come back.

"And even if he does, I'm not going to go running into his arms like a child anymore. I will act like a mature adult. I'm twenty-three! It's time to grow up, girl. Time to give up the fantasy." Rogue whispered to herself sadly.

She then proceeded to do as she told her friends she was doing and plan her next class. Rogue, Jubilee, Bobby and Kitty were all teachers at the mansion. Storm was still in charge and they all still missed the professor. Rogue taught English. And she got to tempt herself all day with romantic heroes and heroines and know that that will never be her.

Rogue sighed as she opened her classroom door. She jumped as saw a boy sitting in front of her desk.

"Jimmy!" A startled Rogue exclaimed, "What are you doing in here?!"

"I-I was just waiting for you professor. I brought a gift for you. Since today is Friday, we don't have classes tomorrow or Christmas day, I just thought I'd give it to you now." The blushing teen dropped a sloppily wrapped present on her desk.

"Um, thank-you. I'll open it later."

Jimmy smiled and left her room. Rogue nervously opened the package. It was no secret that the boy had a crush on her. Rogue almost laughed as she saw the earrings sitting there. The only romantic attention she could get was from a fifteen year old! But the earrings were very nice and they looked like real diamonds. She knew that she couldn't wear them, couldn't encourage this relationship. She planned on returning them politely the next time she saw the boy.

At the end of the day, Rogue packed her things and locked the classroom door behind her. She went upstairs to the teacher's wing and went into her room. She dropped her bag on the floor. The good thing about being a professor was that you got your own room.

"Hey, there Claws." Rogue scratched her cats head as she opened her window. Claws was a gift from Logan a few years ago. He found Claws when he was a kitten on the side of the road. So Logan put the cat in a basket and drove it all the way to Rogue. Claws is a gray long hair tabby with a bad attitude. His sharp talons earned him his name. Rogue loved him because he reminded her of her favorite wolverine.

"The Christmas Dance is tomorrow night on Christmas Eve. I wonder if you're aloud to bring cats as dates." Rogue teased as she scratched under his chin.

"Okay, I couldn't wait anymore! We need to discuss what we're wearing tomorrow night!" Jubliee exclaimed as she burst into Rogues room.

"Hi, Jubes." Entering rooms uninvited wasn't an unusual thing for Jubilee to do.

"Okay, I was thinking of wearing a short red halter style dress with black heels. What do you think? You know what, don't say anything! Let me show it to you!" And with that, Rogues best friend shut herself into Rogues bathroom.

Rogue laughed at her excitable friend.

"What do you think?" Jubilee spun around to show off her red dress. Claws meowed and jumped off Rogues lap and out the still open door.

"Dumb cat. What does he know about fashion?" Jubilee pouted.

"I like the dress. Are you showing off for a certain person who shall remain nameless but might be coming to the dance?" Rogue teased.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you sure? This certain man has wings, blonde hair and the cutest dimples!"

Jubilee blushed and busied herself with fixing the hem of her dress but Rogue could see the tiny smile upon her friends face.

"Why don't you just ask Warren out?" Rogue asked.

"I'm planning to tomorrow night. Maybe under the mistletoe! How romantic! And I picked out a dress for you to wear too!" Jubilee thrusted a dress bag at Rogue and pushed her into the bathroom.

Rogue pulled on the silky dress and looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was strapless and jet black. It was skin tight and went all the way to the ground. Jubilee had even put a pair of long black gloves in the bag. Rogue took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom.

Jubilee gasped and clapped her hands. "Oh, Rogue! That dress is so you! I was right! You are going to look amazing! But you should wear your hair down." And Jubilee pulled out Rogues hair tie and let her chestnut waves cascade around her friends pale shoulders.

"I don't know. It's supposed to be a Christmas dance. This isn't very Christmasy." Rogue said nervously.

"Who cares? You look hot!"

"I'm going to go change back into my other clothes." Rogue said as she stepped into her tiny bathroom. She pulled of the sexy dress and put on her jeans and black t-shirt. She made sure she had her scarf and gloves on before she opened the bathroom door again.

When she got out, Jubilee waved her over to her bed ad they settled in among the pillows to watch _Pride and Prejudice _on the TV opposite.

Jubilee giggled and mouthed the words along with the characters but Rogue just sat and watched Elizabeth's and Mr. Darcy's first meeting. Mr. Darcy was cold and distant. He talked to no one and no one approached him. He was tall and tough and throughout the whole movie, Elizabeth was the only one to love him despite his faults. Rogue felt her eyes fill up with tears as she noticed the similarities between Logan and the fictional character.

She quickly wiped away her tears before Jubes noticed. When the movie ended, Jubilee yawned and said goodnight. Rogue turned off the lights and lay in the dark and smiled at the best present Logan has ever given her. Claws would growl if anyone but Logan of herself came near him. It made her glad that they had a thing they could share. So she said goodnight to Logan's gift cat instead of him and fell asleep.

**Chapter Two: **

"Pass the tinsel." Rogue said from atop a ladder. She was decorating the massive Christmas tree that Hank McCoy gave to the school while Jubilee was hanging streamers around the great hall.

The Christmas party was due to start in three hours. They had already set up the small tables and chairs around the outside of the dance floor and hung a disco ball over the center of the room. The Christmas tree that Rogue was decorating was in the far corner of the room. Mistletoe was hung in every doorway in the entire mansion thanks to Jubilee.

Storm walked in and said, "Looks good. Kurt should be here in a few hours. He said he would DJ the dance for us. He sounded pretty excited on the phone."

"Or maybe he's just excited to see you again." Jubes muttered under her breath.

Storm glared, "This is purely professional."

Rogue bit back a laugh.

Storm was still pouting so Rogue changed the subject by saying, "I think we're almost done here. What do you think?"

Storm looked then said, "It looks great. The dance starts in three hours so-"

"_Three hours?! _Oh my God! I'm not going to have enough time to do my hair and nails and make up! I have to get started!" Jubilee was almost hyperventilating.

"You two can go get ready now. Thank you so much for your help." Storm called over her shoulder as she left the room.

"Do you want to get ready together or just meet here at seven, when it starts?" Jubilee asked her friend as she put away the last of empty boxes.

"Let's just meet here later." Rogue answered.

Jubilee raced from the room, sprinting up the stairs in the direction of the staff rooms.

Rogue followed at a more normal pace. She was passing a window when she heard the familiar sound. She glanced nervously out the window and saw him on his motorcycle turn into the garage. Logan was here. She felt her stomach flip. She promised herself that she wouldn't act childish when he arrived, so to stop temptation, she speed-walked to her room and locked the door behind her.

She leaned against the closed door and gasped for breath. Storm was right. He came back. Her cat was staring out the window. She shut the blind.

"Stop it, Claws. He left us, remember? Stop being so pathetic!" She sternly told the feline.

She had half a mind to not even go to the dance; she knew he would be there. She sighed and flopped backwards onto the bed. Rogue hated herself for falling in love with a man that probably sees her as a little sister/daughter mix. She also knew what he would say if she confessed her feelings for him. Something like, "Now, darlin' I am too old for you, too rough. You need to find someone your own age. Besides I still love Jean even though she died five years ago." She could almost picture the expression on his face.

She rolled over to face her cat. Claws was nudging her black high heels in her direction. Almost like he was telling her to go.

"I'm not going. And you're a cat. Don't tell me what to do! I refuse to go to the Christmas party if Logan is going to be there!"

And that's how Rogue found herself outside the doors of the party at 7:15 pm. She sighed and pushed open the huge wooden doors.

It looked great. The Night Crawler was playing a fast paced holiday song and the bodies of a hundred or so children and teens were swaying to the beat.

Rogue picked up the hem of her long dress and carefully stepped down the couple of steps onto the dance floor.

Jubilee squealed when she saw her friend. "Oh, Rogue! You look great! I'm glad you left hair down and you didn't trip on your heels!"

"Not yet, anyways." Rogue murmured back.

"Look! There's Warren! I'm going to try and get him to ask me out!" Jubilee went to the young man with the angel wings, her freshly curled hair bouncing along with her.

Rogue smiled as she watched from a distance her friend giggle and flirt.

"Hey, kid. Did you miss me?" A rough voice asked from behind her.

Rogue felt her body stiffen as she turned slowly around.

The Wolverine stood with an easy-going grin on his face and wearing his signature leather jacket. He obviously hadn't mad an effort to dress up. Rogue felt her mouth fall open and her heart speed up. She cleared her throat and tried to fight the growing blush on her face.

"H-hello, Logan." She winced at her uneven tone of voice.

"Hi yourself. Why didn't you come say hi to me when I got here?" Darn that grin on his face.

"I was busy. Decorating. I, um, I gotta go. You know. I'm chaperoning." She tried to back away from him, but tripped on her high heels and long dress.

He grabbed her elbow before she completely toppled over in front of everyone.

_Why is he looking at me like that? _Rogue wondered to herself. Logan was staring at her up and down. Almost like he was checking her out. But that's impossible Rogue told herself. He was still holding her elbow.

Rogue carefully stepped away from him. Was that a slight blush on his face when she looked into his eyes? Was it just her imagination that he looked away to quickly?

"Hi, Professor!" Jimmy. Of course.

"Hello, Jimmy." Rogue _so _didn't want to do this in front of Logan.

"Did you like my present?" He eagerly asked her.

"It was….. very nice. But I can't accept it." Rogue handed him the package she had been carrying all this time.

His face crumpled. He looked at her with sad adolescent eyes. "Why?" He asked her.

"Because I am the teacher and you are the student. If I accepted your gift then I would be encouraging a relationship that can't happen." Rogue told him softly.

His sad eyes turned angry and embarrassed. He used his powers and ran as fast as a cheetah to the other end of the room.

Rogue turned as she heard a quiet laugh behind her.

"What?" She asked.

"Sometimes I forget how old you are. I just remember you as that skinny girl I picked up at the bar." Logan said grinned.

"You've been gone three years, Logan. I've grown up." Rogue walked away from him.

He grabbed her hand and turned her to face him. "I know. I'm sorry I've been gone for so long but I just……. couldn't stand to be back here. Ever since Jean and the Professor I just……."

"I get it. You really loved her." She pulled her hand from his and hoped she didn't sound as bitter as she felt.

"Damn it! Stop walking away from me!" He roughly grabbed her arm again.

"Let go of me Logan!" Rogue was furious.

"Listen to me! I just had to figure out my past! That's why I left! I had to know who I am!" He snapped at her.

"But you already know who you are! You're the Wolverine. You're moody and grumpy but protective as a mother bear and you're also funny and kind! You always focus on the past too much! You're missing what's happening now! You need to stop turning around and just stare straight ahead or else you're gonna trip!" Rogue burst out. She felt as if they were the only two people in the world, even though most of the party was staring at her and Logan.

Logan stared at her. The silence around them was think and electric. Finally, he shocked her and said, "Do you want to dance?"

Rogue was so stunned, she allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor. Suddenly she was shy and quiet. She avoided his eyes and blushed.

"Why are you wearing gloves? You took the cure, didn't you?" Logan asked her.

"The cure was only temporary. My powers came back about two years ago. But I've been working with Storm to control it. So I can sort of touch people again. I have to concentrate, but I'm getting better." She told him.

"Show me. Touch me." He asked.

"No!" She sounded so serious, he didn't ask again.

They both watched as Kitty and Bobby swirled past them. Kitty wearing a emerald green dress and Bobby's tie matching her.

"Are you and the Popsicle still together?" Logan glared at the other couple.

"No, we broke up a few years ago. He and Kitty are getting married on Valentines Day. I'm a bridesmaid."

"Getting married on Valentines Day is so cheesy." Logan scoffed.

Rogue grinned.

"Do you want me to beat his face in for breaking up with you?" Logan might have been kidding but his voice sounded serious, so Rogue quickly said no.

The two friends swayed to the music in comfortable silence until the song ended.

"I trust you. I know you could control your powers." Logan said softly to her.

Rogue sighed, "I don't want to hurt you! Or anyone! I just don't want to take the chance until I am positive I won't kill anyone!"

"Rogue, I've known you for five years. And I know that I haven't been around that much but I know you. And I know you are strong enough to control this!"

"I'm not! I'm really not! So just drop it, Logan!" Rogue turned and ran as fast as her high heels would carry her all the way to the outside lawn.

She could hear him following her and calling her name. She willed the tears in her eyes not to fall.

"I'm sorry, darlin'. I shouldn't have made you feel like you had to do something you didn't want to do. I just felt you didn't have enough confidence in yourself and you could do it if you really tried." His voice was so quiet in the crisp night air.

She took a deep breath and was proud of the fact that her voice didn't shake. "Thank you, Logan but Storm and I only practice every so often so I don't know if I have enough practice-"

"Why don't you practice more often?" His tone was purely curious. But she still didn't answer for a long time. The silence reined around them as they stood in the snow.

"I'm scared." She was so quiet that he wasn't even sure she had spoken. But when she turned to face him and he saw the tear tracks on her face he pulled her into a strong hug. He could feel her body shake with tears against his. He stroked her hair and whispered to her, "It's okay to be scared of your power. I'm scared of mine too."

She didn't pull away from his hug, just lifted her face off his shoulder so she could meet his eyes. "Really?"

He hated to see that fear and sadness in her eyes. "Yes. That's why I hate that I can't remember who I was. I don't know what I did with my power." He told her honestly.

She breathed deeply and the tears stopped falling. She leaned back in his arms and smiled a small smile. "It's snowing." She breathed.

He brushed a few snowflakes off the top of her head and smiled warmly down at her.

Their eyes met and her chocolate coloured irises became serious. "Okay." She told him firmly. "I'm ready."

"Ready for what?" He asked as she stepped away from him and slowly pulled her left glove off.

"Rogue, you don't have to-" He began to say. He understood what she was doing.

"If you trust me, I think I can do this." Her bare hand moved so slowly up to his face and it was shaking slightly. Her eyes were focused and wide. When her hand touched his grizzled cheek, her eyes lit up slightly with the small victory.

"I can do it." Her eyes were wide and her warm hand wasn't shaking as much.

"I knew you could." He was so proud of her. Was it Rogues imagination that his face was slightly leaning towards her own? She moved closer to him and just when she thought he might have kissed her, the door opened and Storm walked out.

The pair jumped apart quickly and looked guiltily up at the white haired woman.

Storm put her hands on her hips and looked away. "I just came out to find you and tell you that the dance ended and we are sending the kids to bed. So, Rogue, if you could come and help send them upstairs-"

"Oh, yeah, sure. No problem, Storm." She picked up the hem of her gown and her left glove and made her way to where Storm was standing.

"Actually I have a present for you, Rogue." Said Logan.

Storm went inside to give them one more minute of privacy and Rogue looked up at her Wolverine.

"I've had it for a while." He shoved a surprisingly neatly wrapped package at her and avoided her surprised eyes.

"Thank you, Logan!" She took the red box from him and they both went inside.

"I'll see you later kid." His voice was gruff as he turned towards the guest housing.

"Goodnight!" She called after him.

Her and Jubilee got all the students into their rooms and then turned to go into their own.

But outside Rogues room stood Bobby.

"What are you doing here?" She didn't mean to sound rude, but she was tired.

"Logan is back." He said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes, he is. Goodnight Bobby." She tried to step around him but he wouldn't move.

"I don't like him. I don't think you should see him anymore. He left you, Rogue!" Bobby yelled at her.

"No, _you _left me! Logan came back!" Rogue was irritated by the fact that Bobby felt he could tell her what to do.

"Why aren't you wearing your glove?" Bobby stared horrified down at her still bare left hand.

"I've been practicing. I can control it a little now." She tried to tell him.

He stepped away from her, "You have to wear your gloves! You could kill someone!"

"No, Bobby!"

"Get away from me!"

Rogue stepped away from him, the hurt evident in her eyes.

"Rogue….. I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean it like that. I was just…….."

She pushed past him and into her room. Claws grumbled at her and licked his feet.

She pulled off the gown and as fast as she could, put on a long sleeve pajama shirt and pants. She pulled the covers up to around her face when she got into bed and pushed her cat off the bed when he tried to hop on. Usually, Claws slept at the foot of her bed like a dog. He was always careful to avoid her lethal skin, some sort of instinct Rogue guessed.

She stared around her darkened room and her eyes landed on the pretty present Logan had given her. It was in a red box with a tidy gold bow. She smiled as she remembered their evening together but felt cold when she thought about how Bobby treated her.

"I'm a monster." She whispered aloud into the night. No one answered.

**Chapter Three:**

Rogue didn't leave her room all the next day. She could hear the people laughing and calling to one and another because after all, it was Christmas day. She was afraid to go out again. Afraid to see anyone. Especially Bobby. He had acted so frightened of her. She let the cat out to go and find his own food on the huge mansion property. She didn't move from her bed for a week. She texted Jubilee and told her she was sick, so Jubes would bring up her meals. Rogue waited until she was sure Jubilee had gone and then opened the door and quickly grabbed the tray and slammed the door again. She let no one inside, not even the cat. Jubilee left her trays of food outside her door. Storm hired Warren to act as a substitute for her classes. Rogue also didn't open Logan's present.

It was New Years Eve when Rogue finally worked up the nerve to leave her now incredibly messy living quarters. Claws was living with Logan (who had called and pounded on her door multiple times) but she still had his empty cat dishes and litter box. There was clothes and paper everywhere. She tried to work but was too distracted.

She went into the bathroom and had a shower for the first time in a week. She knew she was grungy and gross, but didn't want to see her skin. She threw on a long pair of track pants and a black turtleneck sweater and gloves. She let her hair hang down and around her face to hide it. She glanced in the mirror on her way out of the bathroom. Her body was skinny and bony from barely eating anything all week and her face was so skinny, her cheeks were hollow. Her eyes were tired and weary and she was eerily pale. Even though her hair was down, it didn't wave prettily like on Christmas Eve, it was just hung, heavy and dark.

She attempted to clean up. She threw the dirty laundry in her hamper and made her bed. She tidied her desk and the papers she had tried to mark. She opened the blinds for the first time in a week and saw that it was night time. She kind of lost track of the time. She looked at her digital clock and it said **11:41 pm**.

She figured that everyone would be asleep, so she thought it would be safe to venture down to the kitchen to grab a glass of milk. She quietly opened her door and equally as quiet, shut it behind her. She tiptoed quietly in her socks down the hall and the stairs and was sneaking past the front door when she remembered what day it was. New Years Eve. Everyone would still be up. Usually, Storm would have one party in the winter season: a New Years party or a Christmas party. This year it was a Christmas party so on New Years, the kids were aloud to stay up past curfew to watch the ball drop in New York City and countdown to the New Year.

She figured that most of the teens were having an unofficial party in the Great Hall, playing music and hanging out, that sort of thing and the littler kids would be in the Games Room playing foosball and pool and watching the New York City party. She hoped that no one would be in the kitchen so she could get a glass of milk and go.

She looked into the kitchen and saw that it was in darkness. She breathed a sigh of relief. She wouldn't have to deal with anyone tonight. She didn't bother to turn the lights on, just felt her way to the fridge and opened it. She reached for the milk jug but saw a bottle of beer out of the corner of her eye. The little bit of Logan still inside her screamed for it. She put back the milk and cracked open the Corona. She downed it fast. It was good so she grabbed another. Her head began to feel a little fuzzy.

"Since when do you drink beer?"

Oh, God, she knew that voice! She turned slowly around to see Logan sitting in a chair drinking a bottle of the type of beer she was drinking.

"Since I touched you and got a little bit of you inside me. The you inside me demanded beer. What, um, what are you doing sitting in the dark?" Rogue backed away from the fridge and inched towards the door.

"Same as you. I didn't want to be seen." He took another swig of the mostly empty bottle.

"Storm is going to kill you for leaving your booze in the school fridge." She sounded like a moron. Rogue took another baby step towards freedom.

"I don't really care right now. And don't you back away from me, Rogue!" Suddenly he was standing too close to her.

"G-get away from me!" He was too close! She could hurt him!

"No! What happened to you? No one's seen you for a week! Jubilee said you were sick, but that's total bull!" She backed away, but for every step she took back, he took one forward.

"I-I-I….. just had to….. Go! Don't come near me!" She could barely think, barely focus on anything but the fact that his bare arms were too close to her.

"Rogue! What happened?" He tried to put a comforting hand on her clothed shoulder but that was too much.

"No! Don't touch me! Don't come near me! Get away! Go! I'm a monster!" She screamed at him than broke down into hysterical tears. She slid down the wall and put her face in her gloved hands.

"No, Rogue! You are _not _a monster! You are a human being! Who told you, you were a monster?" The Wolverine sounded angry and panicked. He sat down next to her a few feet away.

"B-B-Bobby……" Was all she was able to spit out before the Wolverine was standing again with his claws out.

"Bobby." His voice sounded low and dangerous. He turned away from her and headed to the door.

"Wait!" She cried. She calmed her tears and put a hand on his broad back.

Her touch seemed to calm him.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't rip him to pieces right now for what he said to you!" The Wolverine growled.

She gulped for air and wiped her eyes. "He didn't say it in so many words exactly. He just….. he was scared of me. When my first boyfriend woke up from the coma, he told everyone what happened and then everyone I knew was scared of me too! My own _mother _didn't want me around my little brother! They treat me like a monster, so I must be one!" Her voice cracked on the word, 'monster'.

He retracted his sharp claws and pulled her into a hug. Even when she tried to pull away, he held on to her until she stopped trying to get away and just hugged him back. "Listen to me, Rogue. You are _not _a monster! It's not what your power is, but how you use it that makes you who you are!" He sounded so fierce and strong.

"You sound like Professor Xavier. "

"He was a smart guy."

They stayed in that position until Rogues shaking stopped. Logan held her until he was sure she could stand on her own.

"How did you like your present?" Logan asked her.

"I didn't open it." She reached for another bottle of beer but Logan swatted her hand away.

"Don't drink that stuff. And what do you mean you haven't opened it yet?" Logan exclaimed.

"I was dealing with stuff."

"I know! But go open it now!" He pushed her out the kitchen door and she raced to her room and grabbed the gift and ran back down to the giver.

She was panting by the time she arrived back at the now bright kitchen. "Got it!" She breathed heavily.

She carefully opened the pretty package, not wanting to damage the bow and paper.

"Oh don't be one of those people who save the paper!" And impatient Logan ripped the wrappings off with a single swipe from his metal claws.

She opened the delicate box to reveal a beautiful silver heart shaped locket with a swirling design on the front.

Rogue gasped, "Oh, Logan! It's amazing!" She couldn't believe he had given her something so lovely.

"Open it!" He was as excited by the gift as she was.

She opened the silver clasp and saw a tiny picture of her laughing on one side of the heart and Logan smiling on the other.

"Logan……. this is just…. perfect." She felt her eyes mist up and put the heart shaped locket her chest.

"The pictures are kind of old. I've had the necklace for a while. Jubilee gave me the picture of you and she tricked me into smiling for the camera." He growled.

"Jubes knew about this the whole time?" Rogue was shocked that the girl had kept the secret for this long; usually she had a huge mouth.

He grinned at her and she felt her heart melt into the ground. Obviously her crush on him hadn't gone away.

"Let me put it on you." She turned and lifted her hair for him to clasp the necklace.

"Be careful of my skin." But she didn't sound as panicked as before she just murmured it quietly.

"10!"

"Oh, right it's New Years Eve." Grumbled Logan, "How can you hook this stupid thing together if the clasp is so damn small?"

"9!"

They could hear the shouts from all the other people in the building from the next room over counting down to the New Year.

"8!"

"Ouch, you got it hooked in my hair!" yelped Rogue.

Logan tried to fix it as the cries of "7!" and "6!" were called.

"5!"

"4!"

"3!"

"2!"

"There! Finally got it!" Logan said triumphantly.

"1!"

Rogue spun around and threw her arms around him. She then kissed him full on the mouth. The cheers from the mutants next door filled their ears as well as their own thumping hearts and quick breath.

She pulled away when she realized what she was doing.

"Logan, I-I'm so sorry. I-I just…." she stammered, trying to find a reason for the unexpected kiss. She was humiliated when he continued to say nothing. She felt the embarrassed tears coming on when she snuck a look at him from underneath her platinum bangs.

He was looking completely shocked but not angry. "Darlin' do you know how long I've wanted to do that for?" She gasped as he grinned wolfishly at her.

This time he was the one to start the kiss. He held her face in his hands and she put her arms around his neck. He backed her up against a wall and kissed her roughly. She ripped her mouth away from his and gasped for breath. He made a trail of kisses from her earlobe to her collarbone. She ran her hands threw his hair and licked his lip, asking for entry. He answered by meeting her tongue with his. She never knew a tongue could feel so good. She giggled and knew he could feel it vibrating through her. He moaned with pleasure and ran his hands over her body.

"Ahem."

The voice caused Logan and Rogue to stop the heated make out session but not pull their bodies apart.

"What?" Logan growled. Rogue could see he was panting for breath.

"That is not appropriate behavior by a teacher in a school. There are children next door and they can hear you." Storm said disapprovingly.

Rogue was embarrassed but Logan simply said, "Then we'll take our business somewhere they can't hear us."

And with that, he slung Rogue over his shoulder and she outright laughed as he made his way past a scowling Storm and up the stairs to Logan's room.

He dropped her onto his bed and Claws, who was lying there, hissed and jumped off the bed and out the door which Logan slammed after him. Logan then pulled off his shirt and crawled over and began kissing her neck.

"Logan, wait." Rogue said and quickly wiggled to the other side of the bed.

"I'm sorry, Rogue. Are we moving to fast for you?" The heated passion in his eyes was replaced by worry and concern.

"No, it's just that I haven't….. you know….. since I got my powers back so I don't know what will happen. I mean, it's a lot of bare skin!" She so badly wanted to be on the other side of the bed kissing Logan but wouldn't risk his safety.

"I trust you. Just concentrate on keeping your powers in check." Logan reached out his arms and within seconds she was in them again.

She fell against the pillows and he leaned over her and kissed her passionately.

**Chapter Four:**

Logan woke up before Rogue. The early morning sun shined on the small smile on her sleeping face. A thin sheet covered her lethal skin, which she can't control in her sleep. She was curled up against Logan's chest and Logan smiled at his love and kissed her head. He had had the best night of his life last night. They had made love then fell asleep whispering to each other. He had confessed that he had been in love with her since Mystique transformed into her to mess with his head. But he had conflicting feelings for Jean too and that was what caused him to be away so much. Rogue confirmed what he had guessed at: she loved him. He didn't usually get all sappy and romantic, that was Scott's thing, but this was a special occasion. He knew he had a massive grin on his face and he felt as if somebody had slipped him drugs. He sighed with content and snuggled back into Rogue's warm body when he heard the noise. It was like an engine for a transport truck too far away for anybody to hear but him and his heightened senses. It didn't feel right. What was a transport truck doing driving down a private country road at 6:27 on a Saturday morning? He slipped away from Rogue, thankfully not waking her up, and put on a pair of jeans and a plaid shirt with a white wife-beater underneath. He grabbed his shoes and snuck out the door and down the stairs. He put on his shoes and opened the front door. He stood outside with his hands in his pockets. Everything looked completely normal. The rising sun was sending away the last of the morning mist and the earliest birds were just beginning to chirp. Logan didn't expect anyone to be up for another couple of hours because of the late night last night. He looked around again and was about to go back inside when the truck he had heard pulled into the mansion property. It was huge and black and Logan couldn't see who was driving. He took a step back and put a hand up to shield his eyes from the glare off the windshield.

The truck stopped and a man stepped out. Logan didn't recognize him and he was coming closer. Logan clenched his fist, prepared to fight. But then two men he did recognize step out of the big rig.

"Magneto!" Logan's shocked cry sounded extra loud in the morning silence.

Magneto walked towards him and was followed by another man Logan knew.

"And you! You're Jim- no John! You're Bobby's friend John!" What were these people doing here? And who was the third man?

"And what about me, Jimmy? Don't even recognize your own brother? What do they do to you here?" The man glared disdainfully at the mansion.

"My-my brother? Who are you?"

"It's a sad day when family doesn't recognize family. I'm Victor, Jimmy." The man had short dark hair and inch-long claw like nails. Logan was sure he had never seen this man before in his life. But what about his past life? Was this stranger the clue to figuring out who he was?

"Come, my boy. We have a lot to talk about." Magneto gestured for him to come with them back to the truck.

"Yeah, come on, Jimmy!" The man- Victor said.

"Why do you keep calling me Jimmy?"

"'Cause that's your name! James Howlett!" Victor exclaimed.

"M-my name is Logan." This man was making him unsure about everything! And that was a feeling he hated.

"You took that name, but it was the name of our gardener. Now come on! We have so much to talk about."

Logan was sort of tempted to go with him, but he knew what kind of people Magneto and Pyro were.

"Why are you with them?" Logan gestured to the two other men with his chin and glared.

"We met along the way. Now, are you coming or not?" Logan could tell them man was getting impatient.

"Come along boy!" Obviously Magneto was getting impatient too.

Logan glanced up at the window to his room, "Fine." He said,"But let me do something first."

He raced up to his room where Rogue was still sleeping, "Rogue!" He gently whispered, "Wake up, darlin'!"

She rolled over to face him and murmured something under her breath.

"I'm just going out for a while. Magneto is here and he has my brother with him. I'll just be gone for a day or two. Can you tell the others for me, darlin'?" He quietly said to her.

She made some sort of noise, which Logan took as a yes, so he kissed her head and went back out to the truck.

"Hop in!" Called Victor, "It's a long drive!"

* * *

A few hours later, Rogue woke up. She sighed and stretched out like a cat. She was slightly chilly considering she was wearing nothing but a thin sheet and it was January. She reached out arms to find Logan and snuggles closer to him, but her hands just found empty air. She frowned and opened her eyes.

"Logan?" She was completely alone in the room. She couldn't find her pants and her shirt had been mysteriously ripped to shreds. Logan got very….. excited last night. She got out of bed and grabbed a pair of Logan's sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Logan was huge compared to her, so the clothes were miles too big. She also couldn't find any of her undergarments or her gloves and prayed she wouldn't see anyone on her way back to her room. She groaned and slipped out his door. She managed to get all the way through the guest wing without seeing anyone, because Logan was the only guest in the building, but as she snuck past the front door, she had to pass the Games room and kitchen and dining hall where most people were. The cat calls and wolf whistles chased her back to her room. So did Jubilee.

"O.M.G. Where _were _you last night?! And whose clothes are wearing?! OMG, are those _Logan's _clothes?! You naughty girl! What did you get up to last night?! Wait- maybe I don't want to know." Jubilee smirked at her and Rogue did her best not to die from embarrassment.

"You haven't seen Logan have you? He wasn't in his room when I woke up." Rogue was worried about him.

Suddenly Jubilee's teasing expression turned thunderous, "So he wasn't there when you woke up was he? He got what he wanted and left. He pulled a dine-and-dash. Of all the rotten, good-for-nothing, _crap _Logan has done over the years, this is by far the worst!"

Rogue felt her sunny mood evaporate with Jubilee's harsh words. "No, I'm sure he's just getting some breakfast or something. Maybe he went out for a smoke."

She tried to ignore her friends skeptical expression and went into her room. She went into the bathroom and pealed off Logan's clothes. She held the shirt up to her face. It smelt like him. Like cigar smoke and beer and pine needles. She then fingered the pendent Logan had given her and opened it to reveal her and his happy faces. It was the only thing she had kept on all last night. She smiled as she thought about what was going on just a few hours ago. She took of the necklace and stepped into the shower. She scrubbed her hair and shook her head. No, Logan would not leave her. He had said he loved her. But if he loved her, where was he?

She dressed in her own clothes, a purple t-shirt and Logan's necklace, jeans and her signature black opera gloves. She folded Logan's clothes and smelt them one more time. She glanced out the window and didn't see him with a cigar hanging out his mouth. She ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach and went off to find him. She marched down the stairs and into the kitchen. He wasn't there. But her cat was.

"Hey, buddy. Have you seen him?" The cat sneezed in response. She got him out a bowl and poured his Whiskas into it. He meowed his thanks. She went out to the back lawn where Storm was talking to some students.

"Hi, Storm. Have you seen Logan?" Rogue tried to look as if she wasn't freaking out and was pretty sure she was failing epically.

Storm glanced coolly back at her, "I thought he was with you. In a place where _no one could hear you._"

Rogue blushed and muttered a quick, "Thank you." And speed walked back inside. She could hear the kid's giggles behind her. She poked her head into the all the classrooms, the danger room, the dining hall, the games room and most of the hallways. He was no where to be found. Where was he? Could Jubilee be right?

"So what's in the back of this hunk o' junk?" Logan was seated in the backseat with Victor while Magneto drove and John sat in the passenger seat.

"Oh, just some old nick knacks. Victor, why don't you tell Logan all about your childhood." Magneto said quickly.

Victor proceeded to tell his brother all Logan couldn't remember. Even about their parents and the wars they've fought in.

"Which sides were we on?" Logan was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning, but his cool demeanor stayed the same.

"Don't remember. There were a lot of wars." Victor said with a shrug.

Logan frowned. "Do you have adamantium in you?"

Victor scowled and clenched his fists, "No." He barked out shortly.

Magneto smiled at him through his rearview mirror, "But we can fix that."

Pyro grinned and Victor looked calmer. Logan was beginning to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Hey, where are we?" He tried not to sound nervous.

"Here." Magneto slammed the brakes and everyone in the car crashed forward. Pyro hopped out of the truck and ran around to the back. Magneto nodded at Victor and left as well.

"Come on, Jimmy. It's time." Victor said cryptically and pushed his half brother out of the car. As soon as Logan's feet hit the ground, he couldn't move them. He couldn't move his whole body.

"What have you done to me?" Logan could barely move his lips.

"Haven't we been over this before?" drawled Magneto, "You have metal wrapped around your bones, I control metal. Come along now."

He waved his hand and Logan lifted into the air. Pyro and Victor followed them to the back of truck and Victor opened the door for Magneto. Logan glared at the man. Victor winked.

The inside of the truck looked like a rougher, dumpier version of the place from Logan's nightmares. The equipment hanging from the sides, the glass tank in the middle, the container of hot, bubbling liquid. It was adamantium.

Magneto noticed Logan's shocked expression and laughed. "You're brother would like to be like his little brother. He wants metal claws too."

Victor smirked than turned to Pyro and Magneto. "Hook him up." He ordered.

Magneto smashed Logan's body onto an examination table and John stuck different colored wires to Logan's head, arms and (after ripping off his shirt) his chest.

"We need to make sure we've got this right. I don't want to end up a freak like you." Victor snarled.

The three men then made sure the adamantium liquid was hot enough and thick enough. Magneto forced Logan to open his claws, and Pyro took a picture of it. The continued to bustle Logan like scientists, while he could only glare.

Rogue sat in her pajamas on her desk chair looking out the window. She was stroking Claws and thinking. Every since her late night escapade with Logan, it had been much easier to control her powers. She barely had to focus now; she just had to keep it in the back of her mind. She thought it was because she had worked so hard to not kill Logan, she had permanently made herself in control of her powers. She was actually petting her cat with her bare hands, and was barely trying!

It was really late, around one or two in the morning, and Logan was still missing. Storm wouldn't send out the jet looking for him, she said he would come back on his own. Rogue had waited up as long as she could for him. But she was exhausted, so she crawled into her bed and fell asleep. Ever since she had touched Logan for the first time five years ago, she had gotten a little imprint of him in her head. At the beginning, she had acted like him, but now she has the odd craving for beer, the quick flash of animalistic anger but mostly nightmares. They haven't come for a long time, but they were always hard to deal with. Tonight as the moon shone down upon her sleeping figure, she had one of his nightmares.

It was the typical one. He was in the laboratory with markings on his body. The scientists came closer with the big needle. He felt like he was on fire. It was like no pain anyone had ever felt before. It was scary. A terrible nightmare for her even though it's his. But the only thing different about this nightmare from the others was that it was silent. It was like a movie someone had put on mute. But there were voices in the background. Logan's voice coming at her as if they were standing at opposite ends of a tunnel. He's telling her he went with Magneto and his brother. That he'd be back later. For her to tell the others. She feels his kiss on her face.

Rogue wakes up in a cold sweat. Her sheets are twisted around her legs and her cat is sitting on a chair staring at her. She gasped for breath and shuddered. Logan didn't leave her! But he was with Magneto who was dangerous. She had to find him as soon as possible. She kicked off her blankets and stumbled out of her room in her pajamas to find Storm. Along the way she wondered about Logan's brother.

**Chapter Five: **

Logan was still strapped to the examination table though the mutant men had long stopped with the investigation. Not that he really needed it. Magneto still had control of his body.

Night had long ago fallen and they had little battery operated lights strapped to the ceiling. It was too hot in the trailer because of the three grown men's body heat and the boiling metal. Victor was now wearing small, tight black boxer shorts and getting into the tub of water. Magneto was trying to hook him up to the machine and John was monitoring the heart rate machine. Logan glanced over at his traitorous brother in the machine he was in fifteen years ago and felt a shiver run through his body. He wasn't dying but he felt what people called his life flash before his eyes.

_He was lying in a bed coughing. There was a man with him and a teenage boy. Suddenly, they heard a shout from down stairs. The man called out a woman's name, "Elizabeth!" He started towards the door. _

"_Father!" The sick boy in the bed called._

"_Stay where you are, James!" the man sounded panicked but firm. He runs down stairs and after a moments hesitation, Logan follows. _

_There is another man with Logan's father, and a woman. She is crying and the second man is holding her roughly. The boy's father is yelling at the other man, "I told her never to come back here!"_

_Suddenly there is a gunshot. The woman is screaming and Logan races down the stairs to find his father dead. _

"_Back away! There are things you don't understand!" The man is yelling at him, still holding the murder weapon in his meaty hands. _

"_James, go back upstairs!" The woman is now sitting on the ground beside the man. Her tears have stopped. Logan is glaring at the man with such hatred, he didn't even hear her. He can feel his heart beating, he can feel his blood pounding, he can feel every part of himself. He wants the man dead. He can picture killing him himself with his bare hands. And suddenly, two bone claws have ripped through his skin and he is running and screaming towards the man. He stabs him in the stomach and gets a grim sort of satisfaction from the fact that the man who killed his father is dying. _

_But just as his last breath was going from his lungs, he rasped, "He wasn't your father……son." _

_And he's gone. Logan looks at the woman. His mother. His anger is still going strong. The liar! She had an affair and kept it from his father. He ripped his claws out of the corpse and was about to finish her off to. The anger was that uncontrollable. But the fear and loathing and disgust in her eyes stopped him. "What are you?" She whispered. _

_He looked at his claws and ran from the house in his bare feet. He ran and ran and ran through the forest behind their house. He kept running until he felt something hit his back. He cried out and tried to run faster, but something was holding him back. It was the teenage boy. _

"_We're brothers now, Jimmy. We stick together no matter what! We'll take care of anyone who gets in our way! So, keep running! Don't look back!" The boy grabbed Logan by the collar and half dragged him to go faster. They didn't look back. _

_Other events flashed through his mind. The boys, grown up now, fighting in wars. Countless wars. Other mutants. Breaking into an office building and killing everyone. An African village. The head man who gave a signal to kill everyone. Even the innocent ones. Even the woman and the children. The mutants happily attacked and the screams were deafening. Logan ran off. The memories were coming faster. Just pictures, almost. A woman's face. A cottage in the Canadian Rockies. The woman's face again. And suddenly she was speaking. _

"_Why is the moon so lonely?" She asked him. She was beautiful. Long dark hair, pale skin and a white dress. _

"_Why?" Logan played along. _

"_Because she used to have a lover." She was holding a beer bottle in her hand and so was Logan. _

"_You tell this to the kids?" He teased. He was laying on a couch in front of an open door which looked out onto the mountains. _

"_No." The flash of irritation in her eyes was gone as quickly as it appeared. Logan laughed. _

_She continued her story__. " __His name was Kuekuatsu and they lived in the spirit world together." _

"_Oh, this is a true story." Logan liked her stories. _

"_Mm-hmm." She murmured. She hiked up her dress and straddled him. "And every night, they would wander the skies together. But, one of the other spirits was jealous. Trickster wanted the Moon for himself. So he told Kuekuatsu that the Moon had asked for flowers; he told him to come to our world and pick her some wild roses. But Kuekuatsu didn't know that once you leave the spirit world, you can never go back. And every night, he looks up in the sky and sees the Moon and howls her name. But... he can never touch her again." She was quiet by the end, just gazing at Logan with love. She was looking at him as if she expected him to understand the story. Like it should mean something to him. _

_But all he said was, "Wow. Koo-koo-ka-choo got screwed_."

_The memory changed again. He was talking to the head man who was the leader of the gang of mutants. One of the other mutants was with him. The memory changed and he was holding _her _lifeless body. He screamed with rage and sorrow. The he was in a bar fighting his brother. Then he was talking to the man again. _

"_I have a way of making you indestructible." The man whispered. "But we'll have to destroy you first. But it'll be worth it. You can avenge Kayla. You know Victor killed her." _

"_Okay, Stryker, I'll do it. But I'm going for blood. So stay out of my way." _

_Then he was in a familiar memory. The metal bubbling and churning and the scientists and Stryker standing on a balcony. Logan had a pattern all over his naked body. Then the needle pierced his skull. It was pain so intense, Logan could barely breathe. The he was in a barn, hiding naked. Then he was at a dinner table with an elderly couple. Then in a casino in New Orleans talking to a young man with a purple trench coat_

"_You Remy LeBeau? Are you the one they call Gambit?" _

_Then he and Gambit were flying in a plane. Then he was talking to her. She was alive but working for them. Then she's shot. He promises to get her to safety but as he's carrying her into the sunset, he's shot. He falls to the ground and she screams. Stryker is standing over him with a gun in his hands. He aims for his head, and then everything goes blank. _

Logan's eyes pop open. He wasn't even aware he had shut them. Seeing his brother in the same position he was in so long ago brought back every one of his lost memories. His heart raced. The mother he never knew. A house he didn't remember growing up in. The woman he forgot he loved. But now he remembered. He remembered everything! He felt a pang of sadness for Kayla but it wasn't strong and it didn't last long. He loved Rogue now. And even if she wasn't shot, she would have died from natural causes by now. Damn he was old!

Magneto and the others didn't notice his moment of recollection. They were to busy getting Victor ready for the pain that might kill him.

"He's with Magneto! And his brother….." Rogue cried to Storm as she burst into her room.

"Who?" Storm was still groggy but she got out of bed and into a bathrobe. She pulled her ivory hair off her face with an elastic band and turned to face Rogue. "Who are you talking about?"

"Logan! He's with Magneto! I don't know where he is but he could be in trouble!" Rogue was almost going crazy.

"Okay, how do you know this?" Storm was, as always, acting rational and mature but Rogue just wanted to move.

"I had a dream. He said he was going with Magneto and his brother and that he would be back in a couple days!"

"Logan doesn't have a brother. And why would he willingly go with his enemy? It was just a dream, honey. Go back to bed." Storm tried to nudge her back out the door.

"No! It wasn't just a dream! We have to find him _now!" _Rogue was frustrated at the lack of action.

"Rogue, honey-"

"And it was with the dream about the adamantium! That must have something to do with Logan! Please, Storm! We have to go now!"

Storm looked at Rogue seriously for a minute before saying, "Alright. Go get into your uniform and go wake the others. I'm going to get the jet ready."

Before she even finished what she was saying, Rogue was out the door and banging on the teams doors.

"GET UP! COME ON EVRYBODY, WAKE UP!"

They all moved to the hallway with the PJs on and seriously pissed of expressions on their faces.

"What." Kitty was not really a morning person. And even less of a three in the morning person.

"We are looking for Logan! I think I know where he is, so got get dressed!" Rogue was almost pushing them back in there rooms to get them to go faster.

"Wait, what about the kids? We can't just leave them here alone!" Bobby stopped and said.

'Warren is still here. He can watch them." Jubilee smiled a little at the mention of Warren.

"Okay, now go get into you uniforms!"

Rogue raced back into her room and slapped her hair into a messy ponytail and through on her uniform. Fifteen minutes later all the X-Men were seated in the jet and they were rising out of the basketball court.

"I have the heat sensors on." Storm said as she steered the plane away from the school. "It's sensitive enough to pick up a human beings body heat."

After an hour over flying aimlessly around the state of New York, the X-Jet picked up a massive source of heat.

"Let's look here." Bobby said more to get off a plane with an anxious and worried Rogue on it then to actually want to look for Logan. It's not that he didn't want to find him, it's just that him and Logan had never seen eye-to-eye.

Rogue pushed passed everyone as soon as the jet was on the ground and ran across the field it was on to a transport truck parked on the side of an empty dirt road.

Logan had heard the plane coming before it could even pick up the trucks heat on its sensors. He could hear it getting closer and closer. Just when he could hear it land, Magneto turned on the Adamantium machine. Victor couldn't scream, he went unconscious nearly the second the needle went into him. Logan could hear the beep from the heart rate machine getting louder and louder and faster and faster. His brother was most likely going to die. He almost felt sad. Almost.

Above all the sounds from inside the trailer, he could hear voices. The voices of the X-Men. They were getting closer.

And suddenly the doors of the trailer burst off, and there stood Storm with her arms raised and her eyes completely white.

The wind whirled around the trailer and knocked papers loose. Shocked, Magneto accidentally let go of Logan and Logan ripped out of the leather straps.

Logan's claws were released and he went to join Storm at the doorway. Pyro lit his lighter and glared at the X-Men. Magneto stopped him, "We don't need to go to such drastic measures, do we? It's not like we actually took Logan against his will. We just wanted to study his lovely bones." He drawled lazily.

"You tricked him." He heard _her _say. The lady with the smart brain and southern accent. He inhaled deeply as her scent overcame him. Like vanilla and apples. She wore no perfume and hardly any make up, unlike other woman. So nothing obscured her heavenly smell.

He turned to face her. She was standing there with the other young X-Men. They all wore identical looks of hatred directed Pyro and Magneto. Except Bobby's tinged with the slightest bit of sadness.

Magneto laughed, "I didn't trick him, my dear girl! I said his brother would tell him about his life, and he did! Speaking of Victor……" Magneto turned towards the tank Victor was laying unconscious in.

And that's when Pyro did it. He sent a massive ball of fire towards the X-Men and blew them all backwards. Magneto screamed, "YOU FOOL! YOU DESTROYED EVERYTHIING I WAS WORKING FOR!"

But John just laughed and sneered, "That was for you, _Iceman!" _

"Stop it, John!" Bobby shouted at his ex-best friend. He tried to freeze the fire but it was too strong and hot.

Logan lunged at Pyro with his claws outstretched, but something stopped him in midair.

"Bad, Wolverine. No treats for you. Maybe we should keep our troublesome animal outside." And with that, Magneto threw Logan out into the fire.

Rogue screamed and ran at Magneto with her hands outstretched. Pyro laughed and moved the fire so that it blocked her from Magneto. He made the fire more and more wild until it was leaping at Rogue's hair and clothes. She gasped for breath and tried to find a way out of the ring of fire.

Logan was on the other side of the field also trapped in the fire. Even though the ground was covered in snow, John's fire was burning strong across the field, catching on the trees and bushes. Logan was pacing inside his fiery cage and made a sound like a growl. He tried to push his way through the flames, but every time he did, Pyro just made them bigger.

Magneto managed to salvage most of his work from the fire, Pyro moved it away from the trailer. Pyro was occupied with keeping his prisoners trapped, so Jubilee snuck past him to where Magneto was. Amazing light burst from her hands. It erupted around the trailer, and knocked Magneto against the wall. She was able to keep him pinned with the fireworks. She could see his body weakening from the brilliant explosions of light, when she was knocked of her feet. From the ground she saw a man wearing only boxer shorts with metal nails glaring at her. The metal nails looked to be made out of the same stuff as Logan's claws, but the man's skin looked like it was stretched too tight over his bones and looked slightly crooked and grey. He was trembling slightly and didn't look very strong. She swung the vivid light his way, but it didn't even faze him. He continued on his way out of the trailer, and didn't even shudder at the freezing temperatures. He looked around and stepped out of her line of vision.

Rogue couldn't breathe. The thick black smoke swirled around her body, choking her and stealing the breath from her lungs. The hot flames were getting closer and she couldn't escape. She could see nothing outside the wall of fire except Storm desperately trying to make the rain she conjured up put out Pyro's fire.

"HOLD ON, ROGUE!" Storm's eyes have never been whiter in her attempt to rescue the young woman.

Logan could hear Rogue's coughs and screams from across the field. He roared in anger and pushed his way through the flames to see Pyro laughing and just making more fire.

"STOP IT, JOHN!" Bobby was panicked and heart broken.

"MY NAME'S NOT JOHN, YOU GOODY TWO SHOES!" Pyro threw a ball of fire Bobby's way, but he managed to dodge it. They heard Kitty shriek and turned around to see her flat on her back and a man walking towards them.

"LOGAN!" the man yelled but a wracking cough consumed him. He shuddered but kept walking.

"VICTOR?!" Logan's shocked yell was heard clearly through the fight.

"YOU WANNA GO, LITTLE BROTHER?!" Victor didn't look up to a fight, but he wanted to best his brother. Logan stepped through the fire, and Pyro forgot to replace them, so great was his shock at seeing the man.

Victor lunged at the Wolverine and knocked him down. Logan growled and flipped his brother over. Victor took a swipe at Logan's head, but Logan was too quick for him. Suddenly they were both standing again. Victor went to stick Logan with his nails but Logan jumped back. Victor took a step back and leaped at his younger half-brother. And then it was over. Logan had cut off his head, when Victor was still in the air. The head rolled away from him and Logan retracted his claws.

"You should have listened to Stryker." He muttered before kicking the head away.

Rogue's scream pierced the dying night. It was louder than the others and hoarser. Like she was out of oxygen. It was a sick, choking sort of sound and it ripped through Logan's heart. He raced to the edge of the flames and ran the length of it, trying to find a way in. he eventually just ran in. The flames licked at his bare skin, but his healing powers protected him.

"You have to stop the fire!" Bobby desperately called to John.

"No! They deserve it!" Was his old friends harsh reply.

"He loves her! And if she dies, he'll be alone. He can't die and join her! It would be like his own personal hell!" Bobby's blue eyes filled with tears and compassion. John turned away from Bobby and his eyes and pretended he didn't hear his sigh of frustration.

Bobby ran to where Storm was standing and tried to help her tame the fire. She was still trying to make it rain, but the rain would evaporate from the heat of the flames before it even got close. Bobby tried to freeze it. Nothing helped. The fire was getting wilder and hotter. Bobby was standing too close, but he was unconcerned about his own safety.

"Dammit." John swore then brought the fire down. Bobby shot him a look of surprise and gratitude and affection. John pretended he didn't see it. But the thing he couldn't pretend he didn't see was Logan holding Rogue's still body as his shook with sobs. Her face was blackened by the smoke and her hair was sticky and slightly fried.

Thick tears ran down Logan's sooty face as he held Rogue tight. Her eyes were open so Logan gently closed them. He brought his dirty lips to her own. He shut his eyes tightly and brought his forehead to hers. Storm was crying quietly and leaned her head against Logan's shoulder. He didn't push her away. He appreciated the touch of a friend.

John looked towards the trailer to see Jubilee stumble from it and Kitty was being helped up by Bobby. They were all silent in the early morning light. The sky was the dark indigo with grey streaks that came before the pinks and oranges of the sunrise.

Logan couldn't feel his heart. He literally couldn't feel that organ. He felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach, ripped out his heart; put it in a paper shredder than peed on it. He thought he was going to go insane. His life was over. It was his fault she died. He couldn't get to her in time. He should have made her stay in the jet. He should have never left with his brother in the first place. He killed her. He loved her and he killed her. Marie D'Ancanto was dead because of him.

Rogue was dead. That thought hit him like a hammer to the head. He would never see her again. Never see her laugh, smile, pout or sigh. Never. Again. He couldn't even see her in the afterlife, because he couldn't die. He would be alone forever.

He felt Storm leaning on him and crying. He could hear Kitty and Jubilee sobbing too. He heard Bobby sniff and grunt, probably holding back tears. But he heard nothing from John. And he was the one to start the fire. But he felt no anger towards him. He just couldn't. There was no room in his heart to feel anything but despair and grief.

He kissed her head and was just about to put her down when he felt a pulling deep within him. Like something was yanking on his very essence. It was coming from his bare hands on Rogue. She was using her power! She was alive! His heart lifted into the air and took flight. He held her hands in his own and put her forehead to his. The pulling was stronger now. It was like his soul was being pulled through a too small tunnel.

Storm must have felt his change because she was still sitting near him, but not leaning on him and her tears had stopped. Kitty's and Jubilee's tears have stopped as well.

The pulling almost hurt now, but he would never let go. His breath caught in his chest and his skin split across his face. He felt himself fading fast. But he never let go. Just as he was sure he would fall unconscious, she woke up. She let out a deep, shuddering breath just as the sun was rising.

The sky was bright pink and orange. Like someone had dumped bottles of paint over a canvas. The sun looked like a ball of fire rising from the earth. Her breath was coming easier now. She pulled away from Logan and looked into his eyes.

Tears were pouring fast down his cheeks, but this time from pure and simple joy. His cuts were healing and he could breathe again. She had tears in her eyes and soot on her face but he thought she had never looked more beautiful.

They never said a word, but at the same time, they jumped into the others arms and kissed long and hard. The kiss said a hundred different things. I love you. Never leave me. I'm sorry.

And when the kiss ended, they just held each other. In the blackened once snowy field. The took no notice of anyone else, just each other. The sun was rising fast now. It seemed like hours later, but maybe it was only seconds, that they finally stood up.

John walked over to them and wouldn't meet their eyes. "I'm sorry." He muttered. Though the words were quiet, he meant them.

Rogue was still too tired to speak or to properly stand, and Logan just nodded.

Kitty and Jubilee ran towards Rogue and hugged her hard. Both the girls were in tears again. John and Bobby brought Magneto out from the trailer. He had fallen unconscious.

"He technically did nothing wrong. He didn't harm Logan or us, though he tried to. What should we do with him?" Storm said.

"Just leave him here." Bobby seemed to have taken the role as lead man, since Logan still hadn't said anything or done anything but stroke Rogue's hair and kiss her head.

"That's not fair." Storm hated the villain as much as Bobby did, but she knew the professor would hate it if they left his oldest friend alone and unconscious in a burnt out field in the middle of winter.

Magneto's eyelids fluttered. "Just leave me here. The truck will still work. I can take care of myself. I want to go and apologize to a certain lady I haven't seen in some time. Mystique is still mad, I think." He murmured through cracked lips.

After some hesitation, Storm left him in the back of the van and went to start the jet. Logan carried Rogue up the gangway and tucked her into a seat and got her a bottle of water from a bag someone had left there. Jubilee and Kitty helped Logan fuss around Rogue until she got so fed up she said, "If you don't stop hovering over me, I'll touch you just to drain your energy away!"

Storm called out the doorway to Bobby, "Come on, Bobby! We need to get back to the mansion and give Logan and Rogue the medical attention they need!"

He started towards the jet but when he realized John wasn't following, he stopped.

"Aren't you coming?" He asked his friend.

"No. I'm not one of you anymore." John sounded a little sad when he said it, almost like he wished he could be one of them.

"You stopped the fire and you apologized. You're still my best friend."

John was still hesitating so Bobby grabbed his wrist and dragged him up to the plane until John said, "Stop that. It's weird. I can walk by myself too."

They strapped themselves in and Storm lifted the plane into the air. They then flew off towards their home.

**Epilogue: **

Kitty and Bobby's wedding was amazing. John was the best man. He felt a little scared standing in front of the people he betrayed, but it all worked out. The wedding was held on the mansions grounds, and everything glittered like diamonds because of the sun and the snow. Everyone at the mansion was invited and so was any other mutant who wanted to come.

A few months later, Logan proposed to Rogue. She grabbed a dress and the next day they were in city hall with no one but Storm, Jubilee, Bobby, Kitty, John, Warren and the minister there. Her dress was light blue and he was wearing a leather jacket with jeans and a wife beater. It wasn't fancy like Kitty's and Bobby's, but to Rogue and Logan, it felt even more magical.

They bought a tiny cabin in the woods about fifteen minutes away by car. There were trees all around and a dirt road leading to their home. There was a pond safe for swimming in five walking minutes through the forest. They spent many a lazy afternoon there. Claws enjoys forest life too. He's like Logan in the way that they love to explore and are self-dependent.

Rogue kept her job as English teacher and Logan is now working in the Danger Room. They just don't live at the school. The school where their daughter will go to. She was born a year after the wedding and Logan is fiercely protective of his little girl. She has Rogue's wavy brown hair but Logan's hazel eyes. She can turn invisible which Logan and Rogue figured out the hard way when they couldn't find her for two hours. Her name is Charlotte Anne Logan, but everyone just calls her Charlie or Shadow which is her hero name. The little family lived their whole life in the cottage in the forest.

Marie D'Ancanto died at the ripe old age of eighty-six. Her grave is next to Scott's, Jean's and the professors. She was buried in the locket Logan had given her so long ago. She had worn it her whole life and Logan wanted her to wear it as well in the after world.

Logan still visits the grave everyday with flowers. And when everyone he knew and loved had died, he still had his daughter because she had Logan's healing powers. They were both so old; they could hardly remember the exact number. Charlie thought her age was around one hundred and twenty and Logan didn't care enough to count his. They still had their charming young looks, but only when you looked into their eyes could you see the age and wisdom.

Logan never forgot Rogue. He still misses her with every beat of his heart. He still visits her grave as well, but he changed it to once a month because he and Charlie moved away from their once happy home, and where they were currently living was so far way from the mansion. The school is still going and so are the X-Men. They have to change them every so often because of deaths and age, but they always take a picture of the latest X-Men when they were young and healthy and all the pictures hang in the front hall.

People still talk about the original X-Men. No one ever forgot them. And no one ever could. When Logan visits Rogue's grave, he stops in and says hi to everyone. He's a legend there. But nothing will ever be the same.


End file.
